Air Liquide says it will invest €125 million ($145 million) to build “the first world-scale air separation unit [ASU] with an energy storage system that helps facilitate more renewable energy on the electricity grid due to its grid-stabilizing capability.” The plant will consume 10% less electricity than conventional ASUs and have a production capacity for 2,200 metric tons/day of oxygen, Air Liquide says. It will be built in the port of Moerdijk, Netherlands and is due to start up in 2022.
The new ASU will be built with Air Liquide’s proprietary system Alive?, an innovation that enables more flexible units to combine customers’ needs and support transition to renewable energy, the company says. The system allows the storage of up to 40 megawatts/hour of energy, which corresponds to daily consumption of 4,000 households, enabling flexibility of the energy intake from the grid. “While keeping a constant production for customers, it can accommodate the intermittency of renewable energy thus contributing to the growth of power coming from wind and solar on the electricity grid,” Air Liquide says.
The new ASU will produce oxygen, nitrogen, and argon for industrial, food, and medical markets. It will be connected to Air Liquide’s pipeline network.
“This investment in a strategic industrial basin, with a first-of-its kind innovation, illustrates our capacity to modernize industry with solutions to support a renewable-energy-compatible grid,” says Fran?ois Jackow, executive vice president and a member of Air Liquide’s executive committee.
